Stampede End Homestand With 3-1 Win Over Fargo

SIOUX FALLS, SD -- The Sioux Falls Stampede rode a fantastic performance in net from Art Brey to successfully close out their five game homestand as they stifled the Fargo Force 3-1 in front of 4,187 fans at the Arena Saturday night.

Brey allowed just one goal on 36 Force attempts while three different players lit the lamp for the Herd (13-5-2), who are now two points behind the Western Conference-leading Omaha Lancers.The win ended a five-game homestand in which the Herd finished with a 4-0-1 mark and are now 5-2-1 overall on home ice.

“It was an all-around good team win,” said Brey, who played for the Dubuque Fighting Saints last season. “Everyone played well and our penalty kill was clicking.”

Neither team hit the scoreboard in the first period, despite the Herd battering Force goaltender Cam Johnson with 22 shots and only permitting seven on Brey. Sioux Falls had two power play chances while the Force had a lone man advantage opportunity in the period. Johnson made several point blank saves during the period to keep the Stampede off the board.

“We had a battle of great goaltenders,” said head coach Cary Eades. “(Cameron) Johnson was outstanding, especially in the first period. I thought he had four or five highlight-reel saves.”

The contest stayed stuck in a scoreless tie until Ed McGovern received a Zeb Knutson pass at the left point and rifled a shot into the upper left hand corner of the net past Johnson, providing the Herd the game’s first lead with 7:37 to go in the second period. Sioux Falls stopped all four Fargo power plays in the period, allowing the Herd to ride a fragile 1-0 lead into the final period.

Sioux Falls opened the third period with a 5-on-3 that carried over from the second and capitalized on the two-man advantage when Bo Pellah nailed a shot from the circle 36 seconds after intermission ended.

“That was a big goal,” said Eades. “That 2-0 lead was huge.”

Herd winger Dakota Joshua gave the Herd a three-goal cushion at 7:19 when he slammed in a rebound with a nifty backhand-forehand move in front of Johnson, making it 3-0 Sioux Falls in the final period. Brey’s would-be fourth shutout of his USHL career was snapped with just 2:04 to go in the game when a shot from Michael Babcock deflected off a Stampede skate and into the net, but he and the rest of the Herd clamped down the rest of the way for a 3-1 win in front of their home crowd.

“The fans are great,” said Brey. “It’s loud and energetic. It’s like our seventh man out there, and we feed off it.”

The Herd will hit the road Wednesday for a game against the Lincoln Stars before ending November with home games against Dubuque and the US Under-17 Team next weekend at the Sioux Falls Arena.